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Clifford J. Tabin

Ph.D.

Chairman, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School

George Jacob and Jacqueline Hazel Leder Professor of Genetics

Dr. Cliff Tabin is Chair of the Department Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and a pioneer developmental biologist.

The common theme of Dr. Tabin's research investigations has been an attempt to understand “pattern formation", how the organization of an embryo arises during its development.  His efforts are responsible for our current understanding of such embryological questions as why the leg is different in form from the arm, and why the heart is on the left and not the right, as well as evolutionary questions such as understanding the genetic basis for the differences in the shapes of the beaks of different species of Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos Islands.

In addition to his research program, Dr. Tabin has had a major involvement in education efforts at Harvard Medical School, teaching embryology and genetics to both the medical students and the graduate students.  He has also played a leadership role in recent wide-ranging medical education reform at Harvard.  Additionally, Dr. Tabin has utilized his expertise in this area to assist the development of a new medical school in Nepal.

Dr. Tabin was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. Among his many honors, he received the National Academy of Sciences Award in 1999; the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology in 2008; elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization in 2010; received the Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology in 2012, received a ScD honoris causa degree from Union College, Schenectady, New York; asked to present the Harvey Lecture in 2012, and was elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London in 2014.

Dr. Tabin completed his graduate studies in Biology at MIT in 1984, studying oncogenes with Bob Weinberg.  He has been on the faculty in the HMS Department of Genetics since 1989.  He has been a Full Professor since 1997 and was appointed Chairman of the Department in January 2007.

Clifford J. Tabin

Ph.D.

Chairman, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School

George Jacob and Jacqueline Hazel Leder Professor of Genetics

Dr. Cliff Tabin is Chair of the Department Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and a pioneer developmental biologist.

The common theme of Dr. Tabin's research investigations has been an attempt to understand “pattern formation", how the organization of an embryo arises during its development.  His efforts are responsible for our current understanding of such embryological questions as why the leg is different in form from the arm, and why the heart is on the left and not the right, as well as evolutionary questions such as understanding the genetic basis for the differences in the shapes of the beaks of different species of Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos Islands.

In addition to his research program, Dr. Tabin has had a major involvement in education efforts at Harvard Medical School, teaching embryology and genetics to both the medical students and the graduate students.  He has also played a leadership role in recent wide-ranging medical education reform at Harvard.  Additionally, Dr. Tabin has utilized his expertise in this area to assist the development of a new medical school in Nepal.

Dr. Tabin was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. Among his many honors, he received the National Academy of Sciences Award in 1999; the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology in 2008; elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization in 2010; received the Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology in 2012, received a ScD honoris causa degree from Union College, Schenectady, New York; asked to present the Harvey Lecture in 2012, and was elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London in 2014.

Dr. Tabin completed his graduate studies in Biology at MIT in 1984, studying oncogenes with Bob Weinberg.  He has been on the faculty in the HMS Department of Genetics since 1989.  He has been a Full Professor since 1997 and was appointed Chairman of the Department in January 2007.

Recent Publications

Active cell proliferation contributes to the enlargement of the nascent nucleus pulposus

Published On 2025 Feb 20

Journal article

CONCLUSIONS: Our data is consistent with the hypothesis that notochord cell proliferation contributes to the enlargement of the nucleus pulposus before the vertebra undergo hypertrophy.


Genetic Mapping of Orofacial Traits Reveals a Single Genomic Region Associated With Differences in Multiple Parameters of Jaw Size Between Astyanax mexicanus Surface and Cavefish

Published On 2025 Feb 20

Journal article

The regulation of bone size is a poorly understood and complex developmental process. Evolutionary models can enable insight through interrogation of the developmental and molecular underpinnings of natural variation in bone size and shape. Here, we examine the Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus), a species of teleost fish comprising of an extant river-dwelling surface fish and obligate cave-dwelling fish. These divergent morphs have evolved for thousands of years in drastically different...